Key facts
- Ramiro Valdes, an early collaborator of Fidel Castro and a hero of the Cuban revolution, died at age 94.
- Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel announced the death on social media, expressing deep sorrow.
- Valdes was a participant in the 1953 Moncada Barracks assault and the 1956 Granma landing.
- He held the honorary titles "Hero of the Republic" and "Commander of the Revolution."
- The Ministry of the Interior of Cuba recognized Valdes as a founder of the repressive apparatus.
Ramiro Valdes, one of Fidel Castro’s earliest collaborators and a figure lauded as a hero of the Cuban revolution, has died at the age of 94. President Miguel Diaz-Canel announced the death on social media on Sunday, stating that Valdes' passing "hurts deeply, like that of a father." Diaz-Canel added, "Until victory, always, Commander!"
Valdes was a top government official for decades after the rebels came to power in 1959. He held the honorary titles "Hero of the Republic" and "Commander of the Revolution" and was part of the powerful Political Bureau of the ruling Cuban Communist Party until 2019. Born on April 28, 1932, Valdes was 21 when he fought alongside Fidel Castro in the assault on the Moncada barracks, which launched the 1953 uprising against the government of Fulgencio Batista. He was exiled with Castro in Mexico and was one of 82 men who sailed the yacht Granma to Cuba in 1956 to restart the insurrection, surviving as one of only 12.
The Ministry of the Interior of Cuba (MININT) issued an official farewell statement, calling Valdes a founder of the repressive apparatus and promising his enduring legacy within the ministry.